Rachel having become pregnant, followed by Edmund Burke having been killed by a bus shortly after Juliet expressed that "Wish" may be evidence that Juliet shares Walt’s wish-fulfilment Gift.
She knows that (prior to Ben’s tumour) that the Island is/was cancer-free.
Male sperm count is five times higher on the Island than elsewhere
Women who become pregnant on the Island die before their third trimester
Jacob is a great and powerful wizard, able to cure (and therefore inflict) cancer and appendicitis - among other wonders.
The Sonic Fence can repel Smokey
Having undergone the Island Martial Arts Training Program, she’s able to defend herself in unarmed combat. She’s also become a good shot with both Taser and hand-gun. The implications of a newly-arrived fertility doctor receiving Martial Arts and Weapons training include the likelihood that there are on-Island pre-crash Bad Guys ... the other Others.
Free Will is only available on the Island. Off the Island, Free Will no longer exists. The lives of off-Islanders (including all the misery suffered off-Island by our Losties) have been scripted for them by Someone - possibly Jacob. On the Island, people have to/can make Choices. If Juliet were to have explained this Fact of Life to Sayid the Former Torturer and Ford the Murderer, her life might indeed be forfeit.
Having suffered her fourth shoulder dislocation during "Left Behind" implies that she’s been through three previous Time Loops - and remembers that fact. She may therefore know (some of) what’s ahead for the Losties. If this is correct, it could be worth her life. If she knows about up-coming Lostie injuries and deaths and doesn’t try to prevent them, it might annoy the uninitiated.
Karma and the wisdom of "banking" Good Deeds
The above nuggets do not include the fact that Claire had been implanted with a sick-making device and that Juliet’s Lostie Beach Mission included testing Sun and Kate for pregnancy.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Primary and Secondary Protocols
The Widmore/Keamy/Dorrit/Faraday Primary Protocol appears to have been:
Naomi lands on the Island safely and makes contact with Widmore's on-Island allies. "Finding Desmond" is her "cover story", but her real mission is to locate Ben.
Daniel and Charlotte's Primary Objective is to secure The Tempest and to disable its Island-wide death-spreading capability. It appears to me that Daniel has taken "Manual Control" of The Tempest at this time, which actually keeps it "in play".
Daniel's Secondary Objective seems to have been the study of the Island's Physical, Temporal and Electro-magnetic properties, possibly to re-enable communications with the mainland. His Tertiary Objective may have been an effort to correct his "memory problem". Having helped Desmond find his Constant (and thus possibly establishing his own) he may have achieved this objective. Note that Daniel (but not Charlotte) was aware (how?) of Keamy's Secondary Protocol.
Miles' Primary Objective seems to have been to locate Ben, using any means available, including telepathy. He's happy to try to extort money from Ben (as he did to the Ghost of that drug-dealing grandson) but he didn't "sign up" for mass murder.
Charlotte's Cultural Anthropological training may have come in handy in understanding and befriending the Hostiles and other Others. Having said that, her social skills need sharpening up, IMO.
The Science Team having disabled the Tempest and having located Ben, the Wet Team's Primary Protocol seems to have been to capture Ben, based on the info gathered by the Science Team and to escort him off the Island, leaving its inhabitants alive but under the new leadership of the Widmore Loyalists.
Ben's declaration to Team Locke that after his capture, everyone else on the Island was to be murdered may have been another of his lies (although it was tacitly corroborated by Miles). It seems to me that it was only after the failure of the Primary Protocol that Keamy initiated the Secondary Protocol which included finding Ben at the Orchid, capturing him and "torching" the Island.
Naomi lands on the Island safely and makes contact with Widmore's on-Island allies. "Finding Desmond" is her "cover story", but her real mission is to locate Ben.
Daniel and Charlotte's Primary Objective is to secure The Tempest and to disable its Island-wide death-spreading capability. It appears to me that Daniel has taken "Manual Control" of The Tempest at this time, which actually keeps it "in play".
Daniel's Secondary Objective seems to have been the study of the Island's Physical, Temporal and Electro-magnetic properties, possibly to re-enable communications with the mainland. His Tertiary Objective may have been an effort to correct his "memory problem". Having helped Desmond find his Constant (and thus possibly establishing his own) he may have achieved this objective. Note that Daniel (but not Charlotte) was aware (how?) of Keamy's Secondary Protocol.
Miles' Primary Objective seems to have been to locate Ben, using any means available, including telepathy. He's happy to try to extort money from Ben (as he did to the Ghost of that drug-dealing grandson) but he didn't "sign up" for mass murder.
Charlotte's Cultural Anthropological training may have come in handy in understanding and befriending the Hostiles and other Others. Having said that, her social skills need sharpening up, IMO.
The Science Team having disabled the Tempest and having located Ben, the Wet Team's Primary Protocol seems to have been to capture Ben, based on the info gathered by the Science Team and to escort him off the Island, leaving its inhabitants alive but under the new leadership of the Widmore Loyalists.
Ben's declaration to Team Locke that after his capture, everyone else on the Island was to be murdered may have been another of his lies (although it was tacitly corroborated by Miles). It seems to me that it was only after the failure of the Primary Protocol that Keamy initiated the Secondary Protocol which included finding Ben at the Orchid, capturing him and "torching" the Island.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Season 5 Speculation
Miles’Ghost-busting skills will help explain The Whispers and possibly the long-dead Statue Builders.
I think that Miles is fascinated by what he’s seen on the Island so far, including the recognition that "Claire" wasn’t "herself" after the destruction of her Otherville house. My best guess is that she died in that explosion and that the island immediately resurrected her as a "Smokie" like "Yemi" and "Christian". The fact that she meekly followed "Christian" out of the overnight camp-site, abandoning Aaron (Buddha-like) on that jungle leaf and subsequently chatted with Locke in Jacob’s Cabin suggests as much ... and that Miles was staring at her in wonderment, not lust when Ford warned him to stay away from her.
Charlotte’s Cultural Anthropology skills will also help explain the origins/history of the Statue-builders.
We’ll find out more about her birth and previous life. On one hand, she may have been born on the Island and has been trying to return for years. Or she was conceived there, but born in England and was told about the island by her mother, who may or may not have raised her..
Daniel’s Physics skills will help unravel the physical/electromagnetic peculiarities of The Island. It may be that until Desmond established his "Constant" that Daniel’s note to himself: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant" didn’t exist. Maybe - now that both Daniel and Desmond have established their Constants ... maybe Daniel the "head-case" who "can’t even help himself" has been cured of his "memory problem".
Assuming that the Statue-builders are the same folks who built Ben’s carved-stone Smokey-access door and the glyph-inscribed Frozen Donkey-Wheel chamber, my best guess is that DHARMA, in an effort to "solve" the human-created Future Disaster travelled way back in time and created (or at least influenced) Ancient Cultures including the Assyrians, the Aztec and the Egyptians (whose decorations show up on DHARMA equipment/decor, including the Egyptian hieroglyphs displayed on the DHARMA-built Swan countdown timer). This kind of TT to the distant past may have something to do with the mix of human religions and philosophies we see all over the show too.
I’m hoping that the "Very Bad Things" that happen to the left-behinders do not include the death of Every Living Person on the Island - leaving only the Non-Living Persons (including Ageless Richard and all the Smokey-people) alive.
If wide-spread death is in the cards, I’m guessing that this disaster will roll out of The Tempest - possibly under the manual control of Daniel and/or Charlotte or the other Others.
I’m expecting to learn more about The Sickness (also possibly manufactured at The Tempest) during S5.
I’m hoping to learn more about the Arrow Station - and why Radzinsky’s bible and the glass eye were stored there.
I doubt that we will revisit the Pearl or the Orchid, but I expect we’ll return to The Staff Station and learn more about the Staff Station Battle - in which Ethan’s cheek got scratched. Maybe we’ll even learn how Charlie was hung up to die. I’m thinking that Ethan really didn’t do this dastardly deed.
The Six:
The return of the Six (plus Locke’s body) plus Walt, plus Ben (despite his "never come back" comment) will permit some kind of "do-over" which will avoid the above Island Disaster mentioned to Jack by "Bentham".
Hugo’s Gift is his new-found ability to make his wishes come true coupled with his new-found self-confidence ... as long as someone can convince him he’s not crazy. The last time we saw him in S4 was in Sayid’s company, escaping Santa Rosa where he’d been locked away and watched. Note that Abaddon had tried to get Hugo out of Santa Rosa weeks/months earlier - maybe he’s a Good Guy.
Hugo’s "current" unwillingness to return to The Island seems to me to be motivated by his belief that he really is crazy - and has been having conversations with Imaginary Friends, including (during Sayid’s visit) a chess-playing Eko. It occurs to me that The Bad Guys have been sending Hugo these Imaginary Friends (including pre-crash Dave) in their efforts to make him doubt his sanity and willingly "stay put".
Sayid’s been busy killing Bad Guys - who seem to me not to report to Daddy Widmore ... so ... who is The Economist? As at the end of S4, Sayid and Hugo were heading to "somewhere safe" - and Sayid has explicitly told Hugo that they are not returning to The Island, a commitment that will have to be overturned. I expect that Kate and Aaron will join Sayid, Hugo, Jack, Sun, Ji Yeon and Locke’s corpse in this Safe House. With "Bentham" decomposing by the hour, they’d best not linger in the Safe House.
Sun has managed (possibly in combination with her O6 colleagues) to take over her Daddy’s business and when last seen in S4 had approached Daddy Widmore with an offer (possibly a trick) to help him in some way. Widmore’s familiarity with Paik confirms their collusion in rounding up and loading the Losties onto Flight 815. The fact that Paik tasked Jin with the delivery of two Special Watches coupled with the fact that Christian made a big deal about giving his Father’s Watch to Jack on his wedding day ... this watch business underlines the centrality of Time and Time Travel on LOST.
Ji-Yeon is healthy and smart and Sun has repaired her relationship with her Mom. Her Daddy? Probably not so much, since he’s one of the two people she blames for Jin’s death. The second person she blames may be Jack (he thinks so) ... or it may be Widmore, in which case she’s plotting to harm him ... or ... ?
Jack: Having been marked by Achara as a Great Man and having been tested by the Others and admitted to their "inner circle" (including chess with Ben and football with Tom), he’s certainly ready to become the Leader he’s been trained to be. He’s learned the Hard Way that he should have stayed on The Island - just as Locke and Ben had told him on several occasions. He’s reconciled with Ben (in "no place like home") - ready to Go Back
Kate: as at the end of S4, Kate was still not willing to Go Back. I expect that she’ll change her mind early in S5 - possibly through a threat to Aaron. Like Hugo, she’s been "locked up", restricted to Playing House with her "son" in California for 10 years. In the most-recent teaser for S5, we see Kate telling a much-grown Aaron that they’re going somewhere - and it looks like they’re in danger - maybe even Great Danger.
Aaron is Very Special. The Island (including Ben) wants him to go back, but Someone Else - someone able to send Kate a Smokey Dream in which "Claire" tells Kate "don’t you dare bring him back", wants Kate to stay put in California.
Locke will be "resurrected" like Christian. My best guess is that Locke is/has been/will become Jacob. I’m also expecting to find out that Locke was in the Military shortly before he got pushed out that 8th-storey window.
Where/When did the Island go?:
I think that the Island has been sent back into the past - again. Let’s remember that Juliet’s shoulder has been dislocated 4 times (so far). I’m hoping that in the S5 Iteration, Jin is not dead - and is somehow reunited with Sun when she returns with their daughter. If I’m right and The Island’s been sent back into The Past, the "Oceanic 6" returnees may not be able to interact with the left-behinders. They may be able to watch them (including their own past selves) but only speak to them in Whispers. Or ... maybe their "future" consciousnesses will be able to share space with their past consciousnesses as was the case with Desmond in FBYE and in "The Constant" ... or maybe, The Six will "go" wherever/whenever the Island "went" and rejoin their friends (and enemies) within Island Time
Juliet - she knows way more than she’s told the Losties so far. Remember that she stated to Sayid that if she told him everything she knew that he would kill her ... so far, whatever she’s revealed seems to me not to have been worth killing her for ... but maybe she knew that Nadia, Claire and Jin would "die"
Ford - he’s just returned to the Island and was last seen sharing a bottle of DHARMA rum with Juliet. Will the two of them form a connection? My guess would be that James is not her type. I think he’s asked Kate to look up Clementine and if there’s a way for him and a Returned Kate to interact, I’d guess that the two of them would re-team - at least until Jack gets his act back together
Rousseau - despite her death, I’m hoping we learn her story - possibly through the "flashbacks" of someone else - possibly Richard - who will have to educate JL if he’s going to become their Leader.
Matthew Abaddon - on one hand, this guy’s creepy visit to Hugo implied that he’s a Bad Guy who wanted to transfer Hugo to another location the better to interrogate him. Having failed to persuade Hugo to leave, it may have been MA who then ordered Hugo watched. Or not. Maybe Abaddon wanted to get Hugo out of Santa Rosa, knowing that The Enemy was watching him.
On the other hand, MA inspired a dejected Locke into signing up for his Walkabout - which may or may not have been the actions of a Good Guy.
On the third hand, he assembled Naomi’s Science Team and coldly ordered her to "get in, get out and prevent anyone from getting killed". MA may not have been in charge of Keamy’s Team. I’m hoping we resolve these ambiguities (at least a little) in S5.
We’ll learn more about the competing Factions on and off the Island:
By systematically cutting off communications between the Island and The World (starting with the destruction of The Swan followed by the LG jamming) and between the Kahana and the World plus manipulating the Losties (plus Mikhail) into killing a bunch of Hater/Loyalists including Ethan, Colleen, Danny, Bea, Ryan, Bonnie, Greta - and finally even Tom and Mikhail himself, Ben managed to wipe out a whole bunch of on-Island Bad Guys before the arrival of the Widmore-sponsored Science and Wet Teams (who were expecting on-island "hater" help).
Then, Ben (with a little help from Smokey) killed/captured Keamy and his entire team - and permitted/enabled the destruction of The Kahana followed by "moving" the Island to once again hide it from Widmore’s "view". So ... Ben’s ("we’re not killers") team (possibly directed by Jacob) seems to be opposed to Widmore’s ("take no prisoners") team. I think Ben/Richard’s Good Guy team is mostly ex-Scientists
But I don’t think it’s that simple. I think The Island has an agenda which may or may not coincide with Ben’s and/or Jacob’s. Both Ben and Tom (RIP) are aware of The Island’s powers - which seem to be greater than their own.
Note that Someone sent "Harper" to give Juliet a message (supposedly from Ben) to kill Daniel and Charlotte at The Tempest. At the last moment she refrained and the breach (IMO created by Daniel) was contained. Had Juliet killed Daniel per "Harper’s" message, the Islanders might have been murdered at that point. IMO, the on-Island Faction that sent "Harper" to Juliet and Jack are opposed to Ben and were trying to frame him. These Bad Guys are still - at the start of S5 - around. The "Harper" manifestation had all of the "hater" malevolence that Danny and Colleen had.
Jacob may or may not be a Power in his own right, separate from (and therefore possibly opposed to) the Island. We know that Jacob is respected and obeyed by (seemingly all of) The Others. His abilities seem to include the ability to cure (and therefore probably inflict) cancer and appendicitis (on or off The Island) ... and yet, he seems to be trapped in time/space and needs Locke’s help. "Christian" and "Claire" and "Walt" may be Manifestations created by Jacob - an ability shared with The Island/Smokey.
Unfortunately for Locke (and therefore the Left-Behinders and Richard’s Others) it seems to me that Jacob is evil - and has been "imprisoned" (presumably by Ben the Good Guy) for a good reason. The people on Jacob’s List seem to me to be Bad Guys:
Mikhail and Danny for sure ... and presumably Bea, Colleen etc. The evil nature of Jacob’s List was reinforced (for me) by Mikhail when he explained in "Enter 77" that Locke, Sayid and Kate were not on Jacob’s List because they were flawed, because they were "angry, weak and frightened". Note that Achara told Jack that he was "lonely, frightened and angry" - two out of three adjectives used by Mikhail. This seems to place Jack (and Ben) in opposition to Jacob and his List.
I’m thinking that in order to defeat the real Bad Guys - the guys opposed to both Widmore and Ben, that Locke and Jack will have to learn to work together, that the ex-Scientists and the ex-Military will have to co-operate, that both Dark and Light will have to unite to win. This may be the Family that Locke has to "bring back together".
Ben may or may not be a Good Guy. On one hand, he tells Michael that (unlike Tom) he’s unwilling to permit the deaths of innocent people on the Kahana ... and then - within days - by killing Keamy with his own hands and not transferring the heart-rate transmitter to himself or Locke before Keamy’s death, he does just that - with no remorse. On one hand, he engineers the deaths of ex-military Ryan and his Ten Best, while on the other hand, he sends Goodwin (who didn’t appear to be a Hater) to his death - because of Ben’s possessive/jealous love (unless he’s faking this "love") for Juliet. Ben seems to display both Dark and Light in his personality.
I’m thinking that in addition to having mastered telekinesis, Ben may also be a telepath. He is rarely surprised by anyone and he always knows what emotional buttons to push. In "The man from Talahassee" he told Locke: "If you met Mikhail, that means you were in the Communications Station ... which means you’ve found the explosives ... so, you’re not planning to pilot the submarine anywhere, are you?" This set of "conclusions" sound like deduction, but I think it’s telepathy.
In "Eggtown", Miles tells Ben: "Do not treat me like I’m one of them [nods toward Kate], like I don’t know who you are or what you can do". Miles is a telepath and he seems to be suggesting that Ben is Special in some kind of superhuman way.
Widmore (in "The shape of things to come") tells Ben: "I know who you are, boy; what you are. I know that everything you have, you took from me..." By saying: "I know what you are", he might be implying that Ben is non-human. Or not.
In "Meet Kevin Johnson", Ben tells Karl: "The Temple’s not for them [the Losties], only for us" - as if to imply that Ben’s people are a different type of people from the Losties.
To me, the difference is that the Losties are Living Persons and Ben’s people (most of whom he "brought" to the Island) are "Non-Living Persons". If I’m right about this, it might explain why Ben and (at least some of) his people are telepaths. If Ben’s people are Non-Living "Smokies", they might share in some/all of Smokey’s powers - which include telepathy and pre-cognition. Granted, we "saw" Ben’s birth and bits of his childhood, but he could easily have died somewhere along the line and been reincarnated by Smokey. Or ... what we "saw" of Ben’s birth and childhood is nothing more than false memories implanted in Ben-the-smokey.
Regarding Ben and the various on and off-Island factions, let us also remember that Someone was watching Otherville. There were Security cameras here and there - and even Ben the Leader had a Secret Room which housed his Off-Island travel stuff - foreign currency, passports and clothing. He kept his Travels secret from whomever was watching (possibly Widmore’s people) - and yet he was constrained from simply smashing those Otherville surveillance cameras. More rules, I guess. Note that there were even cameras on the Kahana.
I'm thinking that a handful of wealthy Old White Guys might very well do anything (up to and including the future death of everybody on Planet Earth)to control the secrets of Eternal (Vigorous) Life. Avellino may have been one of these Bad Guys.
I think that the people on Ben’s Assassination List do not report to Widmore. I think the backwards-talking "we hate you" team are the enemies of both Widmore and Ben.
I think that despite appearances, Charles Widmore might be a Good Guy. He’s affiliated with Ms Hawking and Brother Campbell - who seem to be part of a Good Guy "Time Cop" group working to save All Human Life on Earth. Their symbol is the Ouroboros - the same symbol tattooed on Tom’s chest. Note that Widmore gave Desmond Penny’s correct address - which led to Desmond’s future ability to stay anchored in time while Penny set up the (Antarctic?) Listening Post - and eventually rescued Desmond, Frank and The Six. Since Ben also wanted The Six to leave (and then come back), it seems as though there’s some kind of strange co-operation happening between Widmore and Ben.
On the other hand, I’m thinking that ex-Navy Widmore (remember his passion for sailing and the fact that he knew all about Admiral McCutcheon ... plus he asked Desmond if he had any military experience) was once the leader of The (on-Island) Others who ordered the Purge (remember Ben telling Hugo (in "Cabin Fever") that he wasn’t their leader at that time?). I think that just before The Purge we all saw in "The man behind the curtain", that Ben, having previously jumped to the side of the winners, seized control of The Island from Widmore, a coup involving an agreement to abide by a set of Rules, including Widmore’s banishment from the Island and Ben’s promise not to (directly) kill any of the (Widmore) Loyalists. Maybe Widmore then turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel to Move The Island - and send himself back to The World.
With Widmore unable to go back to the Island, it may be that he identifies, recruits and motivates Desmond to go there on his behalf to help prepare for the subsequent arrival of the Kahana.
Penny now presumably knows about her Dad’s involvement in the Island and will try to stay out of sight (for a while). Jack’s last advice to Desmond was: "Don’t let them find you". With Ben having threatened Widmore to hunt down and kill Penny, this is good advice. At some point, of course, there will have to be some kind of confrontation between/among Ben, Widmore, Penny and Desmond.
Note that we’ve seen several pregnancy-detection kits, all (I think) made by Widmore Industries, which implies that Daddy Widmore is also interested in Female Fertility issues. Note that we know nothing about Penny’s mother.
I expect to learn more about The Game that Ben and Widmore have been "playing" - the one whose Rules Widmore unilaterally broke - resulting in Alex’s death. The fact that he denied responsibility for her death - that he blamed Ben for it - implies that Ben may have broken The Rules by "adopting" Alex in the first place.
I think that The Whispers are created by Future-dwelling DHARMA Scientists who are trying to "edit" The Future by making slight but systematic changes to The Past. I expect to learn more about these Whispers (and the Whisperers) in Season 5. Note that the appearance and disappearance of "Harper" was accompanied by Whispers. Note also that we’ve seen a few shots of Whispers "descending" to their ground-level target from their atmospheric POV.
I think that Season Five will (finally) show us more about the "Good Guy" Others who are about to accept Locke as their new leader. I’m hoping that we find out what happened to the Tailie kidnappees, including Zach, Emma and maybe even Isabel.
Cindy - who showed up briefly in "Stranger" and in "The Brig" has become the "guardian" of the kids (possibly replacing Juliet in that role) ... but ... Cindy did not know (in "Stranger") that AL had been killed by Michael. So ... Cindy (and her sub-group of Others) was not "in the loop" to the extent that Juliet is/was.
I expect that the Richard/Cindy group truly does not believe in killing and I’m hoping that we find out why they sometimes wear "hillbilly" clothes. My best guess is that these "costumes" have something to do with the other Others - the ones behind the Night One kidnappings.
I think that DHARMA succeeded in much of their research:
Polar Bear and Shark "enhancement"
Weather Control - possibly including the electrical storm which brought Flight 815 to The Island, as well as the storms which brought Danielle and Desmond as well.
Remote Viewing (Observation without cameras - possibly across Time and Space) ... which might explain how Tom "kept tabs" on Michael after he left the Island.
Telekinesis: No wonder The Others don’t leave tracks ... no wonder Ben showed up inside the locked Funeral Home ... no wonder Bea was interested in whether Walt could appear somewhere where he wasn’t supposed to be (which he did)
Telepathy ... I think that Tom read Michael’s mind when he confronted him in the alley, about to kill himself. After telling Michael: "we gave [Walt] back to you in one piece", Tom hesitates for a moment (during which he reads Michael’s mind) and says: "you told him, didn’t you? You couldn’t carry the guilt all by yourself, so you shared it with a 10-year-old kid." I think he again read Michael’s mind after he’d boarded the Kahana: "Wait a day or two until you're out on the open sea, then you're good to go." Michael doesn't say anything, so Tom says, "Oh, you've met some of them now. Got some names and faces and you're getting cold feet, huh?"
If Tom can read minds, why did he follow Ben’s orders - which indirectly led to his death? Maybe Ben can shield his thoughts (standard capability in all telepathy Sci-Fi literature) or maybe Tom willingly marched to his death in service of The Greater Good, having completed his Work.
The fact that Miles can read minds supports the notion that (at least) some of the Islanders can, too.
I expect that we’ll learn some more about Smokey. We now know that He can send dreams, manifest people, animals and inanimate objects (like video-tapes, traffic-cam photos and maybe even food-drop pallets), download memories and grab/smash things/people. If I’m right that Claire died during the destruction of her Otherville house, it would seem that Smokey can instantly re-animate a dead body (as it did for "Christian" and "Yemi").
We know that He travels underground and can pop up here, there and maybe anywhere. He knows The Future and part of His job is to judge and execute (certain) people. Smokey’s ability to send dreams, "speak through" injured people and manifest people and animals relates to consciousness. Sleep-deprivation, serious wounds, head injuries (concussions), sleep and dementia all facilitate/enable Smokey visions and manifestations.
Smokey is obviously a sentient being with His own agenda and I’m still of the opinion that He’s an amalgam of the pre-DHARMA Island Sentience merged with DHARMA’s Cerberus Security System, this merger possibly a result of, or the cause of the mid-to-late 1970's Incident. Based on the cog/ratchet sounds we hear whenever Smokey’s in action, it seems that He’s partly mechanical - possibly in connection with an underground tunnel railway system built by DHARMA in the early 70's.
Smokey cannot cross (or fly over) the Sonic Fence and he can be driven away by "White Flashy" - which we saw protecting Kate and Juliet in "Left Behind" and which Locke presumably saw in S1. By passing through an ancient stone door and getting dirty (by crawling into an underground lair?), Ben was able to summon Smokey to attack Keamy’s Kill Team (within Otherville - inside the Sonic Fence)... which implies that Ben knows much more about Smokey than he’s telling. What a surprise.
Wish-fulfillment: Ben arrives in Tunisia, unsure of the date, but once he learns that it’s 10/21/05 ... a few days prior to Nadia’s funeral ..... he "wishes up" the photo of Bakir with which to recruit Sayid. What else has Ben (or his enemies) "wished up" over the course of time? I’m quite sure that Tom "wished up" those extra torch-bearers during "The Hunting Party" because afterwards, there are only 4 or 5 people with Tom as they head back to Otherville.
Time Travel ... This is the #1 most important DHARMA discovery and explains how the PB was sent to Tunisia far enough back in time to have died and been buried for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Time Travel into The Future may have shown them a Total Disaster scenario, which they’ve been trying to avert.
According to D&C (and 1996 Faraday): "You can’t change the future" - so ... LOST is either about watching a series of entertaining but inevitable series of irrevocable, Universally course-corrected events (which feels totally wrong to me) OR ... there’s something else going on. Maybe you can only change The Future if you’re on/near the island (where effects can precede causes such as Dr Ray’s left cheek scar "unhealing" before his murder.) Note that Juliet, in TOTC, hinted that only on The Island does Free Will actually exist.
... or ...
Maybe you can change the Past/Present/Future. Maybe there is no "Future", but only the "Eternal Now" - which is my current theory.
When Ford asked Locke (in "The Brig"): "Hey, is it true ... that he threw you out a window, that you were a cripple?", Locke replied "not any more" - which might mean that it’s no "longer" true that Cooper threw Locke out the window in the past. Other evidence that changing the Past creates new realities in The Present include Charlie evolving from a non-swimmer in Season 1 to a former regional swim champion in Season 3 - able to swim down to the LG and disarm the jammer (which he himself might have programmed in The Past). Another example might be Sayid’s (belated) "recognition" of Amira in "Enter 77".
I believe that LOST is all about Changing The Past/Present/Future. In fact, IMO there are at least two Factions competing to change The Past/Present/Future.
I think we’ll learn more about Annie and why Ben was obsessed with female fertility. I predict that we’ll learn that (after The Purge) Ben got Annie pregnant and that she died during her pregnancy. Or - Charlotte turns out to be Ben’s biological daughter who was conceived on the Island, but that Annie was sent to England to give birth and raise her daughter there. Let’s remember that Charlotte was amazed that Aaron was born on The Island.
If I’m right, it means that Ben (knowingly or not) shot his own daughter (without hurting her) and has now "locked her away" on The Island - for now.
So much plot, so little time - only 16 (or maybe 17 or 18) episodes to cover the above - and a whole lot more. You know where I’ll be on January the 21st.
I think that Miles is fascinated by what he’s seen on the Island so far, including the recognition that "Claire" wasn’t "herself" after the destruction of her Otherville house. My best guess is that she died in that explosion and that the island immediately resurrected her as a "Smokie" like "Yemi" and "Christian". The fact that she meekly followed "Christian" out of the overnight camp-site, abandoning Aaron (Buddha-like) on that jungle leaf and subsequently chatted with Locke in Jacob’s Cabin suggests as much ... and that Miles was staring at her in wonderment, not lust when Ford warned him to stay away from her.
Charlotte’s Cultural Anthropology skills will also help explain the origins/history of the Statue-builders.
We’ll find out more about her birth and previous life. On one hand, she may have been born on the Island and has been trying to return for years. Or she was conceived there, but born in England and was told about the island by her mother, who may or may not have raised her..
Daniel’s Physics skills will help unravel the physical/electromagnetic peculiarities of The Island. It may be that until Desmond established his "Constant" that Daniel’s note to himself: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant" didn’t exist. Maybe - now that both Daniel and Desmond have established their Constants ... maybe Daniel the "head-case" who "can’t even help himself" has been cured of his "memory problem".
Assuming that the Statue-builders are the same folks who built Ben’s carved-stone Smokey-access door and the glyph-inscribed Frozen Donkey-Wheel chamber, my best guess is that DHARMA, in an effort to "solve" the human-created Future Disaster travelled way back in time and created (or at least influenced) Ancient Cultures including the Assyrians, the Aztec and the Egyptians (whose decorations show up on DHARMA equipment/decor, including the Egyptian hieroglyphs displayed on the DHARMA-built Swan countdown timer). This kind of TT to the distant past may have something to do with the mix of human religions and philosophies we see all over the show too.
I’m hoping that the "Very Bad Things" that happen to the left-behinders do not include the death of Every Living Person on the Island - leaving only the Non-Living Persons (including Ageless Richard and all the Smokey-people) alive.
If wide-spread death is in the cards, I’m guessing that this disaster will roll out of The Tempest - possibly under the manual control of Daniel and/or Charlotte or the other Others.
I’m expecting to learn more about The Sickness (also possibly manufactured at The Tempest) during S5.
I’m hoping to learn more about the Arrow Station - and why Radzinsky’s bible and the glass eye were stored there.
I doubt that we will revisit the Pearl or the Orchid, but I expect we’ll return to The Staff Station and learn more about the Staff Station Battle - in which Ethan’s cheek got scratched. Maybe we’ll even learn how Charlie was hung up to die. I’m thinking that Ethan really didn’t do this dastardly deed.
The Six:
The return of the Six (plus Locke’s body) plus Walt, plus Ben (despite his "never come back" comment) will permit some kind of "do-over" which will avoid the above Island Disaster mentioned to Jack by "Bentham".
Hugo’s Gift is his new-found ability to make his wishes come true coupled with his new-found self-confidence ... as long as someone can convince him he’s not crazy. The last time we saw him in S4 was in Sayid’s company, escaping Santa Rosa where he’d been locked away and watched. Note that Abaddon had tried to get Hugo out of Santa Rosa weeks/months earlier - maybe he’s a Good Guy.
Hugo’s "current" unwillingness to return to The Island seems to me to be motivated by his belief that he really is crazy - and has been having conversations with Imaginary Friends, including (during Sayid’s visit) a chess-playing Eko. It occurs to me that The Bad Guys have been sending Hugo these Imaginary Friends (including pre-crash Dave) in their efforts to make him doubt his sanity and willingly "stay put".
Sayid’s been busy killing Bad Guys - who seem to me not to report to Daddy Widmore ... so ... who is The Economist? As at the end of S4, Sayid and Hugo were heading to "somewhere safe" - and Sayid has explicitly told Hugo that they are not returning to The Island, a commitment that will have to be overturned. I expect that Kate and Aaron will join Sayid, Hugo, Jack, Sun, Ji Yeon and Locke’s corpse in this Safe House. With "Bentham" decomposing by the hour, they’d best not linger in the Safe House.
Sun has managed (possibly in combination with her O6 colleagues) to take over her Daddy’s business and when last seen in S4 had approached Daddy Widmore with an offer (possibly a trick) to help him in some way. Widmore’s familiarity with Paik confirms their collusion in rounding up and loading the Losties onto Flight 815. The fact that Paik tasked Jin with the delivery of two Special Watches coupled with the fact that Christian made a big deal about giving his Father’s Watch to Jack on his wedding day ... this watch business underlines the centrality of Time and Time Travel on LOST.
Ji-Yeon is healthy and smart and Sun has repaired her relationship with her Mom. Her Daddy? Probably not so much, since he’s one of the two people she blames for Jin’s death. The second person she blames may be Jack (he thinks so) ... or it may be Widmore, in which case she’s plotting to harm him ... or ... ?
Jack: Having been marked by Achara as a Great Man and having been tested by the Others and admitted to their "inner circle" (including chess with Ben and football with Tom), he’s certainly ready to become the Leader he’s been trained to be. He’s learned the Hard Way that he should have stayed on The Island - just as Locke and Ben had told him on several occasions. He’s reconciled with Ben (in "no place like home") - ready to Go Back
Kate: as at the end of S4, Kate was still not willing to Go Back. I expect that she’ll change her mind early in S5 - possibly through a threat to Aaron. Like Hugo, she’s been "locked up", restricted to Playing House with her "son" in California for 10 years. In the most-recent teaser for S5, we see Kate telling a much-grown Aaron that they’re going somewhere - and it looks like they’re in danger - maybe even Great Danger.
Aaron is Very Special. The Island (including Ben) wants him to go back, but Someone Else - someone able to send Kate a Smokey Dream in which "Claire" tells Kate "don’t you dare bring him back", wants Kate to stay put in California.
Locke will be "resurrected" like Christian. My best guess is that Locke is/has been/will become Jacob. I’m also expecting to find out that Locke was in the Military shortly before he got pushed out that 8th-storey window.
Where/When did the Island go?:
I think that the Island has been sent back into the past - again. Let’s remember that Juliet’s shoulder has been dislocated 4 times (so far). I’m hoping that in the S5 Iteration, Jin is not dead - and is somehow reunited with Sun when she returns with their daughter. If I’m right and The Island’s been sent back into The Past, the "Oceanic 6" returnees may not be able to interact with the left-behinders. They may be able to watch them (including their own past selves) but only speak to them in Whispers. Or ... maybe their "future" consciousnesses will be able to share space with their past consciousnesses as was the case with Desmond in FBYE and in "The Constant" ... or maybe, The Six will "go" wherever/whenever the Island "went" and rejoin their friends (and enemies) within Island Time
Juliet - she knows way more than she’s told the Losties so far. Remember that she stated to Sayid that if she told him everything she knew that he would kill her ... so far, whatever she’s revealed seems to me not to have been worth killing her for ... but maybe she knew that Nadia, Claire and Jin would "die"
Ford - he’s just returned to the Island and was last seen sharing a bottle of DHARMA rum with Juliet. Will the two of them form a connection? My guess would be that James is not her type. I think he’s asked Kate to look up Clementine and if there’s a way for him and a Returned Kate to interact, I’d guess that the two of them would re-team - at least until Jack gets his act back together
Rousseau - despite her death, I’m hoping we learn her story - possibly through the "flashbacks" of someone else - possibly Richard - who will have to educate JL if he’s going to become their Leader.
Matthew Abaddon - on one hand, this guy’s creepy visit to Hugo implied that he’s a Bad Guy who wanted to transfer Hugo to another location the better to interrogate him. Having failed to persuade Hugo to leave, it may have been MA who then ordered Hugo watched. Or not. Maybe Abaddon wanted to get Hugo out of Santa Rosa, knowing that The Enemy was watching him.
On the other hand, MA inspired a dejected Locke into signing up for his Walkabout - which may or may not have been the actions of a Good Guy.
On the third hand, he assembled Naomi’s Science Team and coldly ordered her to "get in, get out and prevent anyone from getting killed". MA may not have been in charge of Keamy’s Team. I’m hoping we resolve these ambiguities (at least a little) in S5.
We’ll learn more about the competing Factions on and off the Island:
By systematically cutting off communications between the Island and The World (starting with the destruction of The Swan followed by the LG jamming) and between the Kahana and the World plus manipulating the Losties (plus Mikhail) into killing a bunch of Hater/Loyalists including Ethan, Colleen, Danny, Bea, Ryan, Bonnie, Greta - and finally even Tom and Mikhail himself, Ben managed to wipe out a whole bunch of on-Island Bad Guys before the arrival of the Widmore-sponsored Science and Wet Teams (who were expecting on-island "hater" help).
Then, Ben (with a little help from Smokey) killed/captured Keamy and his entire team - and permitted/enabled the destruction of The Kahana followed by "moving" the Island to once again hide it from Widmore’s "view". So ... Ben’s ("we’re not killers") team (possibly directed by Jacob) seems to be opposed to Widmore’s ("take no prisoners") team. I think Ben/Richard’s Good Guy team is mostly ex-Scientists
But I don’t think it’s that simple. I think The Island has an agenda which may or may not coincide with Ben’s and/or Jacob’s. Both Ben and Tom (RIP) are aware of The Island’s powers - which seem to be greater than their own.
Note that Someone sent "Harper" to give Juliet a message (supposedly from Ben) to kill Daniel and Charlotte at The Tempest. At the last moment she refrained and the breach (IMO created by Daniel) was contained. Had Juliet killed Daniel per "Harper’s" message, the Islanders might have been murdered at that point. IMO, the on-Island Faction that sent "Harper" to Juliet and Jack are opposed to Ben and were trying to frame him. These Bad Guys are still - at the start of S5 - around. The "Harper" manifestation had all of the "hater" malevolence that Danny and Colleen had.
Jacob may or may not be a Power in his own right, separate from (and therefore possibly opposed to) the Island. We know that Jacob is respected and obeyed by (seemingly all of) The Others. His abilities seem to include the ability to cure (and therefore probably inflict) cancer and appendicitis (on or off The Island) ... and yet, he seems to be trapped in time/space and needs Locke’s help. "Christian" and "Claire" and "Walt" may be Manifestations created by Jacob - an ability shared with The Island/Smokey.
Unfortunately for Locke (and therefore the Left-Behinders and Richard’s Others) it seems to me that Jacob is evil - and has been "imprisoned" (presumably by Ben the Good Guy) for a good reason. The people on Jacob’s List seem to me to be Bad Guys:
Mikhail and Danny for sure ... and presumably Bea, Colleen etc. The evil nature of Jacob’s List was reinforced (for me) by Mikhail when he explained in "Enter 77" that Locke, Sayid and Kate were not on Jacob’s List because they were flawed, because they were "angry, weak and frightened". Note that Achara told Jack that he was "lonely, frightened and angry" - two out of three adjectives used by Mikhail. This seems to place Jack (and Ben) in opposition to Jacob and his List.
I’m thinking that in order to defeat the real Bad Guys - the guys opposed to both Widmore and Ben, that Locke and Jack will have to learn to work together, that the ex-Scientists and the ex-Military will have to co-operate, that both Dark and Light will have to unite to win. This may be the Family that Locke has to "bring back together".
Ben may or may not be a Good Guy. On one hand, he tells Michael that (unlike Tom) he’s unwilling to permit the deaths of innocent people on the Kahana ... and then - within days - by killing Keamy with his own hands and not transferring the heart-rate transmitter to himself or Locke before Keamy’s death, he does just that - with no remorse. On one hand, he engineers the deaths of ex-military Ryan and his Ten Best, while on the other hand, he sends Goodwin (who didn’t appear to be a Hater) to his death - because of Ben’s possessive/jealous love (unless he’s faking this "love") for Juliet. Ben seems to display both Dark and Light in his personality.
I’m thinking that in addition to having mastered telekinesis, Ben may also be a telepath. He is rarely surprised by anyone and he always knows what emotional buttons to push. In "The man from Talahassee" he told Locke: "If you met Mikhail, that means you were in the Communications Station ... which means you’ve found the explosives ... so, you’re not planning to pilot the submarine anywhere, are you?" This set of "conclusions" sound like deduction, but I think it’s telepathy.
In "Eggtown", Miles tells Ben: "Do not treat me like I’m one of them [nods toward Kate], like I don’t know who you are or what you can do". Miles is a telepath and he seems to be suggesting that Ben is Special in some kind of superhuman way.
Widmore (in "The shape of things to come") tells Ben: "I know who you are, boy; what you are. I know that everything you have, you took from me..." By saying: "I know what you are", he might be implying that Ben is non-human. Or not.
In "Meet Kevin Johnson", Ben tells Karl: "The Temple’s not for them [the Losties], only for us" - as if to imply that Ben’s people are a different type of people from the Losties.
To me, the difference is that the Losties are Living Persons and Ben’s people (most of whom he "brought" to the Island) are "Non-Living Persons". If I’m right about this, it might explain why Ben and (at least some of) his people are telepaths. If Ben’s people are Non-Living "Smokies", they might share in some/all of Smokey’s powers - which include telepathy and pre-cognition. Granted, we "saw" Ben’s birth and bits of his childhood, but he could easily have died somewhere along the line and been reincarnated by Smokey. Or ... what we "saw" of Ben’s birth and childhood is nothing more than false memories implanted in Ben-the-smokey.
Regarding Ben and the various on and off-Island factions, let us also remember that Someone was watching Otherville. There were Security cameras here and there - and even Ben the Leader had a Secret Room which housed his Off-Island travel stuff - foreign currency, passports and clothing. He kept his Travels secret from whomever was watching (possibly Widmore’s people) - and yet he was constrained from simply smashing those Otherville surveillance cameras. More rules, I guess. Note that there were even cameras on the Kahana.
I'm thinking that a handful of wealthy Old White Guys might very well do anything (up to and including the future death of everybody on Planet Earth)to control the secrets of Eternal (Vigorous) Life. Avellino may have been one of these Bad Guys.
I think that the people on Ben’s Assassination List do not report to Widmore. I think the backwards-talking "we hate you" team are the enemies of both Widmore and Ben.
I think that despite appearances, Charles Widmore might be a Good Guy. He’s affiliated with Ms Hawking and Brother Campbell - who seem to be part of a Good Guy "Time Cop" group working to save All Human Life on Earth. Their symbol is the Ouroboros - the same symbol tattooed on Tom’s chest. Note that Widmore gave Desmond Penny’s correct address - which led to Desmond’s future ability to stay anchored in time while Penny set up the (Antarctic?) Listening Post - and eventually rescued Desmond, Frank and The Six. Since Ben also wanted The Six to leave (and then come back), it seems as though there’s some kind of strange co-operation happening between Widmore and Ben.
On the other hand, I’m thinking that ex-Navy Widmore (remember his passion for sailing and the fact that he knew all about Admiral McCutcheon ... plus he asked Desmond if he had any military experience) was once the leader of The (on-Island) Others who ordered the Purge (remember Ben telling Hugo (in "Cabin Fever") that he wasn’t their leader at that time?). I think that just before The Purge we all saw in "The man behind the curtain", that Ben, having previously jumped to the side of the winners, seized control of The Island from Widmore, a coup involving an agreement to abide by a set of Rules, including Widmore’s banishment from the Island and Ben’s promise not to (directly) kill any of the (Widmore) Loyalists. Maybe Widmore then turned the Frozen Donkey Wheel to Move The Island - and send himself back to The World.
With Widmore unable to go back to the Island, it may be that he identifies, recruits and motivates Desmond to go there on his behalf to help prepare for the subsequent arrival of the Kahana.
Penny now presumably knows about her Dad’s involvement in the Island and will try to stay out of sight (for a while). Jack’s last advice to Desmond was: "Don’t let them find you". With Ben having threatened Widmore to hunt down and kill Penny, this is good advice. At some point, of course, there will have to be some kind of confrontation between/among Ben, Widmore, Penny and Desmond.
Note that we’ve seen several pregnancy-detection kits, all (I think) made by Widmore Industries, which implies that Daddy Widmore is also interested in Female Fertility issues. Note that we know nothing about Penny’s mother.
I expect to learn more about The Game that Ben and Widmore have been "playing" - the one whose Rules Widmore unilaterally broke - resulting in Alex’s death. The fact that he denied responsibility for her death - that he blamed Ben for it - implies that Ben may have broken The Rules by "adopting" Alex in the first place.
I think that The Whispers are created by Future-dwelling DHARMA Scientists who are trying to "edit" The Future by making slight but systematic changes to The Past. I expect to learn more about these Whispers (and the Whisperers) in Season 5. Note that the appearance and disappearance of "Harper" was accompanied by Whispers. Note also that we’ve seen a few shots of Whispers "descending" to their ground-level target from their atmospheric POV.
I think that Season Five will (finally) show us more about the "Good Guy" Others who are about to accept Locke as their new leader. I’m hoping that we find out what happened to the Tailie kidnappees, including Zach, Emma and maybe even Isabel.
Cindy - who showed up briefly in "Stranger" and in "The Brig" has become the "guardian" of the kids (possibly replacing Juliet in that role) ... but ... Cindy did not know (in "Stranger") that AL had been killed by Michael. So ... Cindy (and her sub-group of Others) was not "in the loop" to the extent that Juliet is/was.
I expect that the Richard/Cindy group truly does not believe in killing and I’m hoping that we find out why they sometimes wear "hillbilly" clothes. My best guess is that these "costumes" have something to do with the other Others - the ones behind the Night One kidnappings.
I think that DHARMA succeeded in much of their research:
Polar Bear and Shark "enhancement"
Weather Control - possibly including the electrical storm which brought Flight 815 to The Island, as well as the storms which brought Danielle and Desmond as well.
Remote Viewing (Observation without cameras - possibly across Time and Space) ... which might explain how Tom "kept tabs" on Michael after he left the Island.
Telekinesis: No wonder The Others don’t leave tracks ... no wonder Ben showed up inside the locked Funeral Home ... no wonder Bea was interested in whether Walt could appear somewhere where he wasn’t supposed to be (which he did)
Telepathy ... I think that Tom read Michael’s mind when he confronted him in the alley, about to kill himself. After telling Michael: "we gave [Walt] back to you in one piece", Tom hesitates for a moment (during which he reads Michael’s mind) and says: "you told him, didn’t you? You couldn’t carry the guilt all by yourself, so you shared it with a 10-year-old kid." I think he again read Michael’s mind after he’d boarded the Kahana: "Wait a day or two until you're out on the open sea, then you're good to go." Michael doesn't say anything, so Tom says, "Oh, you've met some of them now. Got some names and faces and you're getting cold feet, huh?"
If Tom can read minds, why did he follow Ben’s orders - which indirectly led to his death? Maybe Ben can shield his thoughts (standard capability in all telepathy Sci-Fi literature) or maybe Tom willingly marched to his death in service of The Greater Good, having completed his Work.
The fact that Miles can read minds supports the notion that (at least) some of the Islanders can, too.
I expect that we’ll learn some more about Smokey. We now know that He can send dreams, manifest people, animals and inanimate objects (like video-tapes, traffic-cam photos and maybe even food-drop pallets), download memories and grab/smash things/people. If I’m right that Claire died during the destruction of her Otherville house, it would seem that Smokey can instantly re-animate a dead body (as it did for "Christian" and "Yemi").
We know that He travels underground and can pop up here, there and maybe anywhere. He knows The Future and part of His job is to judge and execute (certain) people. Smokey’s ability to send dreams, "speak through" injured people and manifest people and animals relates to consciousness. Sleep-deprivation, serious wounds, head injuries (concussions), sleep and dementia all facilitate/enable Smokey visions and manifestations.
Smokey is obviously a sentient being with His own agenda and I’m still of the opinion that He’s an amalgam of the pre-DHARMA Island Sentience merged with DHARMA’s Cerberus Security System, this merger possibly a result of, or the cause of the mid-to-late 1970's Incident. Based on the cog/ratchet sounds we hear whenever Smokey’s in action, it seems that He’s partly mechanical - possibly in connection with an underground tunnel railway system built by DHARMA in the early 70's.
Smokey cannot cross (or fly over) the Sonic Fence and he can be driven away by "White Flashy" - which we saw protecting Kate and Juliet in "Left Behind" and which Locke presumably saw in S1. By passing through an ancient stone door and getting dirty (by crawling into an underground lair?), Ben was able to summon Smokey to attack Keamy’s Kill Team (within Otherville - inside the Sonic Fence)... which implies that Ben knows much more about Smokey than he’s telling. What a surprise.
Wish-fulfillment: Ben arrives in Tunisia, unsure of the date, but once he learns that it’s 10/21/05 ... a few days prior to Nadia’s funeral ..... he "wishes up" the photo of Bakir with which to recruit Sayid. What else has Ben (or his enemies) "wished up" over the course of time? I’m quite sure that Tom "wished up" those extra torch-bearers during "The Hunting Party" because afterwards, there are only 4 or 5 people with Tom as they head back to Otherville.
Time Travel ... This is the #1 most important DHARMA discovery and explains how the PB was sent to Tunisia far enough back in time to have died and been buried for hundreds, if not thousands of years. Time Travel into The Future may have shown them a Total Disaster scenario, which they’ve been trying to avert.
According to D&C (and 1996 Faraday): "You can’t change the future" - so ... LOST is either about watching a series of entertaining but inevitable series of irrevocable, Universally course-corrected events (which feels totally wrong to me) OR ... there’s something else going on. Maybe you can only change The Future if you’re on/near the island (where effects can precede causes such as Dr Ray’s left cheek scar "unhealing" before his murder.) Note that Juliet, in TOTC, hinted that only on The Island does Free Will actually exist.
... or ...
Maybe you can change the Past/Present/Future. Maybe there is no "Future", but only the "Eternal Now" - which is my current theory.
When Ford asked Locke (in "The Brig"): "Hey, is it true ... that he threw you out a window, that you were a cripple?", Locke replied "not any more" - which might mean that it’s no "longer" true that Cooper threw Locke out the window in the past. Other evidence that changing the Past creates new realities in The Present include Charlie evolving from a non-swimmer in Season 1 to a former regional swim champion in Season 3 - able to swim down to the LG and disarm the jammer (which he himself might have programmed in The Past). Another example might be Sayid’s (belated) "recognition" of Amira in "Enter 77".
I believe that LOST is all about Changing The Past/Present/Future. In fact, IMO there are at least two Factions competing to change The Past/Present/Future.
I think we’ll learn more about Annie and why Ben was obsessed with female fertility. I predict that we’ll learn that (after The Purge) Ben got Annie pregnant and that she died during her pregnancy. Or - Charlotte turns out to be Ben’s biological daughter who was conceived on the Island, but that Annie was sent to England to give birth and raise her daughter there. Let’s remember that Charlotte was amazed that Aaron was born on The Island.
If I’m right, it means that Ben (knowingly or not) shot his own daughter (without hurting her) and has now "locked her away" on The Island - for now.
So much plot, so little time - only 16 (or maybe 17 or 18) episodes to cover the above - and a whole lot more. You know where I’ll be on January the 21st.
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